Ben Krasnow is one of the coolest makers I know. From his backyard lab in Redwood City (a stone’s throw away from Maker Faire — well, maybe with the aid of a trebuchet) Ben makes things that usually require a lot of money and sophisticated equipment: an electron scanning microscope, silica aerogel, and freeze-dried astronaut ice cream (I’ve tasted it, and it’s spectacular). Ben also builds electromechanical hardware for Valve Corporation, the famous game developers behind Half-Life.